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Once upon a time, a young man left his home to be a soldier, fighting in a foreign land, because the news of the evil enemies slaughtering innocents like cattle angered him, and he just wanted to help end the war with his effort, no matter how tiny it was.
He fought with his comrade throughout the day, sleeping in wet tents, eating dry rations, and he dreamt of returning home after the victory of the war.
Unfortunately, a cruel faerie snatched him to its realm, a land of ice and snow. There was no one but loneliness to be his companion, and soon he fought so hard just to survive that he gradually forgot who he was and the home which was waiting for him.
Then one day after barely surviving an encounter with an ice bear, he heard a sound. It was very strange, unlike the roar and crack of neither beasts nor birds. But it sounded familiar somehow.
Then he recognized what it was.
It was a human's voice.
The soldier's heart burnt, and he ran toward the sound, finding that it came from an unusually tall and thin man with a patched-up face. It was then that the soldier heard a metallic sound of ticking emitted from the man. He stretched out a hand toward the man.
The man looked at him, frightened, and trying to run. Only that he couldn't even stand. The soldier realized that during the time he struggled to survive, the realm had turned him into a hairy monster. The soldier was heart-broken, and he struggled to make a sound, "...friend."
His vocal cord burnt from exerting the effort.
The man with the patched-up face whispered, "Tony." Then he collapsed.
The soldier took Tony into his cave and took care of him. He was joyful to see a human face.
When Tony woke up, the soldier fed him and gave him water. He taught him how to survive in the hostile land, and shared warmth together at night. Slowly the soldier remembered more and more of himself, and he shared his memory with Tony, who did the same and simply said, "Keep this for me. It's all I have."
The soldier was humbled by Tony's gift.
But then Tony disappeared. The soldier search the land like a mad man. And for the first time in seemingly forever, he felt wetness who soon turned into ice on his face. Then he realized he was crying. He felt a pain so strong that it felt like his heart was torn out of his body, leaving an empty hole. Sorrow embraced him. It might be easier if he could forget Tony, but he'd rather have the grief, a sign that Tony had been in his life instead of the previous blank life.
When Tony appeared again, he was more patched up and blood spattered on his clothes. He fell in the soldier's arm and the soldier thought Tony might die. But it was impossible because in faerie realm, you couldn't even escape with death from the faeries' meaningless torture.
When Tony woke up, he only said the words,"My keeper snatched me away."
The soldier's heart was filled with anger and fear. Now that the faerie keepers had an eye on them, what'd they do to them? More importantly, what'd they do to Tony?
The anger and fear kindled the soldier. He remembered that once upon a time he had a home land that he could live peacefully, and he once tried to escape so many times his bones were broken completely every time he was caught back. He 'd given up the hope now, but now he looked at Tony and found himself saying, "When you get better, let's escape together."
Tony's eyes sparked. The soldier hugged him gently so as not to cause Tony pain.
The night before they ran away Tony kissed the soldier and said, "We'll have our future together."
The soldier was shocked at first, then he kissed back and said, "I'll always be your shield, be your sword."
I wouldn't tell you about their escape. I wouldn't tell you how determined the soldier faced a three man height cyclops guard with only his courage as weapon. I wouldn't tell you how contraindicated a web was set up for Tony that he used all his wit to figure out the route.
But I would tell you that they escaped. I didn't know whether they would have a happy ever after, But more importantly they lived.
And together.
This was the most important thing.